I have been online making money since back in 1996 and am amazed when I think back to my first site. Back then we only had a telephone line attached to a 56K modem. There was no such thing as DSL or Cable access. Boy I feel old. Did I mention when I was young we walked five miles each way to school in three feet of snow… Had to throw that one in ;-)

To get back on track an animated .GIF was one of the coolest things you could add to your website.

When it came to marketing there were a few items on the list you needed to do in order to be successful. Even back then there was competition as not everyone was online. In fact many households did not even have a single computer.

Today, things are much different with most people having fast internet connections, a laptop or PC in every room of the house and even accessing via their cell phone. Now you have Social networks used to assist in marketing, a ton of available software, some of which advertises you can sit pack while the software does all the work for you…

While we have had major advancements online and will continue to see more advances on the Internet, there are a few things that have not changed and probably never will. Remember in ten years from now, you heard it here first!

Newer tools such as Facebook and Twitter definitely have made advances in the way we can reach additional people in a targeted audience. However one of the best has always been fresh content or original articles on your website as well as being listed in article directories such as IdeaMarketers.

With this in mind, the Blog was born. Rather than having to know programming to build an article directory on your own website, Blog programs made it simple for anyone to write articles. Then along came pluggins which helped with search engine optimization and other automated tasks.

Another tool which has blossomed in ease of use as well as availability is the autoresponder. If you were and are today serious about making money online, you NEED this tool.

The fresh content is what helps get you found in search engines, while the autoresponder enables your visitors to sign up so as you can continuously market to them. After all, most people will not bookmark your website; however with your newsletter you can redirect them back to your site!

A rule of sales is a simple one, however many ignore it. For a potential buyer to make a purchase, you need to get it in front of them seven times. The autoresponder has always outperformed any marketing tool when it comes to accomplishing this task.

Do not get discouraged because a person has 100,000 on their mailing newsletter list as we all began at the same point with “ZERO” subscribers.

One of the best and original autoresponder companies is Aweber. They have been around for over ten years and keep coming up with new tools to assist you in your marketing efforts.

So when it comes down to old school versus new school, basically the best marketing weapons in your arsenal are still old school or advancements hindering on old school technology. Fresh content and a newsletter are still king of the hill!